(CNN) – Amid calls for tighter restrictions on guns following last week's deadly rampage in Connecticut, Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry said at a tea party event Monday that anyone with a concealed handgun license in the Lone Star State should be able to take guns on public property – including schools.

"In the state of Texas, with our concealed handgun license, if you have been duly backgrounded and trained and you are a concealed handgun license carrying individual, you should be able to carry your handgun anywhere in this state," said Perry, who later added a person has the right to prohibit guns on their private property.
Provided they have the proper training and license, teachers should have "access to weapons in their school," Perry said. Individual school districts should be able to determine whether or not to allow firearms on their campuses, he said.

At least one school jurisdiction in Texas already allows teachers to carry guns – the Harrold school district, located 175 miles northwest of Dallas, began allowing its employees to carry guns in 2008, as long as they obtained the necessary license.

On Friday, the district's superintendent David Thweatt said the set-up meant his schools were doing everything they could to protect students.

"Is that 100%? No," Thweatt told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Nothing is 100%. But what we do know is that we've done all we can to protect our children."

The shooting Friday in Connecticut has sparked promises from several federal lawmakers to reintroduce tighter gun control measures, ranging from a reinstatement of a federal ban on assault weapons to banning the sale of high-capacity magazines.

Perry stipulated that lawmakers have a responsibility to "do everything we can to make sure that those types of evils are restricted the best that it can be," but that citizens should be wary of reactive decisions from the federal government.

"One of the things I hope we don't see from our federal government is this knee-jerk reaction from Washington, D.C., when there is an event that occurs that they come in and think they know the answer," Perry said.

On the day of the massacre, Perry requested his state's education commissioner review emergency operation plans in schools, saying it was "essential that we ensure all Texas schools are equipped and ready to carry out a strategic plan to secure the safety of students and staff in the event of a threat such as the one that occurred today."

At the event Monday, Perry also dropped a hint about his political future, including a potential sequel to his failed bid for the 2012 presidential nomination.

The Texas governor said his 2012 run, which ended January, was an "extraordinary experience," and that despite his loss, "I would do it again."

soundoff(761 Responses)

wcb2000

Solving gun violence by getting more guns is the most moronic thing I have ever heard. Only in shoot-em-up Texas!

December 18, 2012 11:28 am at 11:28 am |

Mike

So... you say that cross-fire between an armed teacher and a gunman would result in greater fatalities than a gunman with no armed opposition simply shooting unopposed at his victims? I don't think so.

It seems more clear to me that an insane gunman who is intent on killing as many innocent people as possible would be able to do far less damage if there were some other people around who had the means and opportunity to shoot him before he killed more people. Or at the least, turn his attention from shooting innocents towards a gunfight with someone who is armed and stands a better chance, allowing the unarmed people to flee.

December 18, 2012 11:29 am at 11:29 am |

a.hyorth

That comment is breathtakingly ignorant. Perry and his supporters are still thinking we're in the 19th Century. They are holding the country back while the rest of the world moves forward. If we let people like Perry drive the way we think, we will become a third world cultural backwater – a quaint vacation destination for Chinese and Indian families.

December 18, 2012 11:29 am at 11:29 am |

Chris

We can put U.S. Air Marshalls on every flight in America. Why can't we put U.S Marshalls in every school? Cut back on aid to inept countries (Egypt, etc.) and use it to fund the program as well as an additional tax. That's a tax I would gladly pay.

December 18, 2012 11:30 am at 11:30 am |

Andre

Teachers should not be allowed to have guns at schools, but there should be highly trained armed guards and law enforcement agents at the schools.

I agree with our Gov on this one. Schools are defensless aganse acts like Newtown including hopitals, nusing home, etc.

December 18, 2012 11:30 am at 11:30 am |

Rudy NYC

Can someone honestly tell me when was the last time that a person, or persons, committed an armed home invasion within the county where they live? An incident that did not involve criminal activity by the people living in that invaded home? Anyone?

December 18, 2012 11:31 am at 11:31 am |

HowdyDoody

patNY, How do you propose to prevent anyone with a gun from going into a school? Guns weren't allowed in the CT school, that didn't stop the guy. Are you going to post an unarmed guard at the door who will just be the 1st one shot?
People like you just can't grasp the fact that in citizens self defense cases, rarely are their people caught in crossfire. There's a higher risk of being hit from police "crossfire".
Teachers should be allowed to carry if they meet the requirements their state has in place. This event will only fuel the fire of leftists that want to disarm people, not out of the duty to protect the citizens, but to disarm the people that would/will fight back when draconian policies are put in place.

December 18, 2012 11:31 am at 11:31 am |

Kr55

Yes, lets make sure that anyone with mental health issues is only a few seonds away from guns at any time. More guns that are out there, the better. Great idea....not.

police officers and military personnel have been known to flip out and kill their own people.
what's to prevent a teacher from turning the gun on her own students in a closed classroom?
a person with a gun is a potential threat to anyone around them.
I certainly appreciate that we need police officers and military people, and specially trained squads to control violence.
but every Tom, Dick and Jane on the street regardless of license is not qualified to handle a gun in public places, even those places filled with small children, or even by larger kids who can take the gun away from the teacher.

Perry's mind work just like Palin's.
This is why they could never be President.

Perry / Palin "2032" (still never)

December 18, 2012 11:32 am at 11:32 am |

ATL Guy

So when the teachers start wigging out and shooting kids, then we arm the kids next?

December 18, 2012 11:32 am at 11:32 am |

Absntmind

Who says the teacher is going to fire blindly? Last I checked guns aren't allowed in schools and the bad guys aren't following the rules. Assault rifles are already illegal, as an assult rifle is one that can shoot fully automatic. What is a cop killer bullet? That term alone lets me know that you do not know anything about firearms . That said, no one should be giving advice on a subject they know so little about.

FYI, areas which have higher rates of people carrying legal have lower rates of crime.

December 18, 2012 11:32 am at 11:32 am |

Cheryl in Texas

PatNY, you just don't "get it!" Crime goes DOWN when "Bad Guys" know you can DEFEND YOURSELF-and that they might not live through an attempted massacre, AND that THEY may very likely be the ONLY person who might not make it!

"Bad Guys" DON'T get stopped by ANY "Gun Control" laws-because they IGNORE THEM!

The bottom Line is, "Bad Guys":
* DON'T get background checks!
* DON'T get fingerprinted-unless they get caught!
* DON'T pay fees to get a gun license!
* DON'T have to WAIT 3-6 months to get "permission" to get a gun and carry it!

Frankly, since "Bad Guys" don't do any of those things before THEY get guns and carry them, WHY should "Good Guys" have to? Shouldn't "Good Guys" be on an at least equal-opportunity-to-carry-a-gun footing as the "Bad Guys" so they can DEFEND THEMSELVES against someone who otherwise can have a SEVERAL MONTH HEAD START???

WHY is that LOGIC so hard for you and others to understand? It should be common sense! Here's an easy way to understand it: BULLIES DON'T PICK ON PEOPLE BIGGER THAN THEY ARE!!!!!

December 18, 2012 11:32 am at 11:32 am |

Guest

Give the principal a gun. It will be an extremely rare case when it is needed.

Folks, you've got to remember two things: First, Perry is insane. Second, he was talking to insane people. It's the only logic available for such an answer on his part.

December 18, 2012 11:33 am at 11:33 am |

Dennis

Connecticut has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation and it did nothing. We need to put armed police officers at every school to protect our children. Our government is to blame for cutting funding for schools and health care.

December 18, 2012 11:34 am at 11:34 am |

The Real Tom Paine

Duly backgrounded and trained in what, dear governor? I guess this explains the lousy test scores in TX, because teachers are encouraged to pack heat, BS, and creationism rather than real knowledge.

December 18, 2012 11:34 am at 11:34 am |

jmbarrett

Why not rescind all laws on cigarettes while we're at it. They kill much more slowly than guns. Let's take the seat belts out of cars. If people don't was the safety they provide, we shouldn't for it on them. Equip everyone on a plane with explosives. Give narcotics to anyone who wants them. And by all means, stick a gun in everyone's hand and give each of us an opportunity to take everyone around us down if we go berserk or have a meltdown. Rick Perry is just one more moronic gun nut. The facts are so simple even HE should get them. If there were no guns, there would be no shootings. Bullets are useless without guns. And in a population of 350 million, you're gonna have tons of sick, disturbed people who, given the tiniest opportunity and a gun, will wreck havoc, even on five and six year olds. Wake up you sick, sick gunhuggers.

December 18, 2012 11:35 am at 11:35 am |

Sniffit

I was waiting for the stupid to get turned up to 11, but this is even better. Cowboy Fonzie skipped ludicrous speed and went right to plaid.

Persons with a conceal handgun license go through a regurous back ground check by the FBI and Texas DPS. By the time you get the license you reliaze the big resposibity you have taken on. It's not easy.

December 18, 2012 11:35 am at 11:35 am |

Rudy NYC

Arming teachers is stupid. If you want guns within schools, then hire armed, professional security guards. Just make sure that you raise your local taxes enough to pay for it. Better yet, send your kids to private school that does employ armed mercenaries, so that no one gets their taxes raised.

December 18, 2012 11:35 am at 11:35 am |

Anonymous

Ok, bub. There is a reason you could not pass the laugh test in the GOP primaries. So let's arm all the teachers and have gun battles in the school hallways. Get a grip you loser.